Purim is on its way, and first grade Nitzanim (“Buds”) are celebrating this joyous holiday with happiness, friendship, and fun! Children have spent hours putting on costumes, negotiating roles, and acting out Megillat Esther (the story of Esther). Stay tuned as we create backdrops, props, and costumes for a GIANT production! מסכות (masechot–masks) are always …

The Jewish holiday of שבועות (Shavuot – weeks) is coming up, and Shorashim is getting ready! We have been searching for as many shins (ש) as we can find, to help us learn how to spell Shavuot. We made some flower art outside, to enjoy the warm spring-time weather! We’ll be sure to use our art to decorate our …

This past week Shorashim discovered a visitor in our space: Dubi the Bear! He is a staple at the Jewish Enrichment Center who lives in our סִפְרִיָה (sifriyah – library). He wasn’t feeling very well, and he heard that Shorashim was learning about showing חסד (chesed – kindness) to each other, so he decided to come on …

In Shorashim we have been celebrating the holiday of Purim. Purim is a joyous holiday which is traditionally celebrated by dressing up in silly costumes. This past week Shorashim had fun dressing up in a variety of ways! We designed silly costumes with foam pieces on sticky paper. We also came dressed up to school …

Backgrounds painted. Check. Costumes selected. Check. Props made. Check. Script edited. Check. That can only mean one thing… It’s time for Nitzanim to take center stage! We can’t wait to show off all of our hard work and incredible ideas at Family Exploration and Celebration. See you on Sunday, March 11!

This week Shorashim had some more Purim fun! We continued to play with the Purim character puppets from last week. And then we made our own! How excited we were to make our own versions of King Achashverosh, Queen Esther, Mordechai, and Haman. Some children used a template for each character. Others used a blank …

This week Shorashim began to explore the holiday of Purim! In dramatic play, we held a סעודה (seudah – festive meal) for our friends! First we tidied up and swept out all of the dust. Then we cooked some food. We poured drinks. And finally we sat down to our delicious meal! But of course …

On Tu B’Shevat we celebrate the birthday of the trees! One traditional way to celebrate is by planting. We did some pretend planting… And look! We had some trees… …and an apple grow! Later, we did some real planting! First, we added some dirt. Next, we put in some seeds! Then we covered the seeds …

Rosh Hashanah is when many Jewish people celebrate the new year. There are many traditional symbols associated with the holiday, such as apples and honey (eaten for a sweet new year), round challah (to represent the cyclical nature of time) and shofars (a horn that is blown to signify the coming of the new year). …